Developing The Future of Books 12:30-1:30 P.M. New Work City http://www.nwcny.com/
It was very easy getting to New Work City. The office space is very close to the N and Q subway lines.
There was enough seating for the presentation. New Work City served pizza, water, and soft drinks. The pizza was quite good. The staff was helpful and pleasant.
As always, I include what catches my interest and seems relevant. I also like to throw in my own comments and thoughts.
This was a Roundtable discussion by Pearson Education in combination with Penguin Books. The presenters were sponsors of the New Work City space. Pearson is a massive publishing company. The talk focused on the development and entrepreneurial side of the ebook business.
The presentation was quite fascinating. Many of the people in the crowd owned Kindles or Ipads and some owned both. There were still people like myself who took notes in the old fashioned way; in a notebook with a pen.
Most of the audience used Amazon to purchase their books on Kindle or Ipad. This is kind of interesting to me because in the library space, Nooks and Sony are the two main platforms which are used to download books from Overdrive which is the largest provider of ebooks to libraries. If you want to read books from Overdrive or Epub books; Bluefire is an application which allows people to read Epub on Ipad, or Iphone http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bluefire-reader/id394275498?mt=8
I learned we are at the beginning of the real takeoff of ebooks. in 2010, 10% of books are now purchased as ebooks.
The presenters showed us a variety of new applications, many of which are experimental. They were from very popular authors. There were two children s book applications: Topsy and Tim which included puzzles and games for the Iphone and Ipad http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/topsy-and-tim-start-school/id379900572?mt=8 , and Spot the Dog by Eric Hill for Ipad http://www.funwithspot.com/uk/parents_teachers/news.html
The application that caught my attention was a book application of The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. This included three hours of video, music, art, and images. I found it surprising that the publisher would add in a television series to a book. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-pillars-earth-for-ipad/id382298124?mt=8 This reminds me of Vook which combines videos with books http://www.vook.com/
There was also some discussion about an app which was also a book called Paul Kelly How to Make Gravy which combined music with autobiography Paul Kelly is from Australia. http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781926428222/how-make-gravy-z-mongrel-memoir Paul Kelly was compared to Bob Dylan. I have seen that some of the books which we get in about musicians are including cds of music with their biographies.
The app for the Paris Travel Guide by Dorling Kindersley. http://traveldk.com/apps/ew-cities reminded me of Frommer's Travel Unlimited http://www.frommers.biz/content/travel-guides/ which is being sold as a database of travel books.
The presenters told us that paper is still the best technology for coffee table books and photography books. A few people suggested that it is still not possible to get a signed book via a computer. Many people still like reading books in paper. I learned that that paper is only 10% of the cost of a book I think paper books will still be around for a long time, especially with print on demand.
There were some statistics about readership which were interesting. Ipads and Kindles are driving up the amount of material people read. People who have an Ipad or Kindle are likely to read 3x as many books. It is like digital music where people are listening all the time.The statistics reminded me of the NEA study which shows that reading is on the rise especially in electronic formats. http://www.nea.gov/research/ReadingonRise.pdf
Another idea that caught my attention was that there are essentially three types of ebooks; apps, ebooks, and enhanced ebooks. There are other things which I have seen which are quite experimental. There is also something called the "Visual Novel" which combines games with novels. It is basically a mix of simple games, choose your own adventure, and manga style graphics. Hanako Games makes visual novels in the United States.
An audience member commented that there may be a new kind of agent coming into being with digital books.
The question about being able to make notes inside books was asked. I learned that there is a competitor to The Copia http://www.thecopia.com/ called Bookglutton http://www.bookglutton.com/ which allows social annotation of books. People share notes inside books.
The talk was very technology oriented. It touched on topics like virtual book clubs, cookbook apps, Amazon's policy that the ebooks they sell are leased, and the experimental nature of ebook apps.
Many audience members were interested in being able to purchase the physical book bundled with an ebook online. This is already happening with some technical books. Although it was not discussed, many authors make their books available online as creative commons to help drive their print sales.
Subscription models for ebooks was touched on. O'Reilly books has a subscription model for its technical books which is affordable called Safari Books.
I was surprised to hear that there was very little piracy of ebooks. Less than 1% of piracy comes from epub.
There was not a lot of talk about blogs. There was a little bit about bloggers becoming authors, but nothing on blogging communities like Bookblogs on Ning. http://bookblogs.ning.com/
The talk was very well presented and enjoyable to hear. It was a very different crowd than librarians, writers, editors, or publishers. There was a very wide variety of people there. There were thirty people at the talk.
At the end of the talk, we did a little bit of networking. I met Travis Alber, President of Bookglutton there. I also got a chance to get a better sense of how New Work City worked. It is shaping up to be quite congenial.
Showing posts with label publishers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishers. Show all posts
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, April 18, 2008
New York Comic Con
Today is New York Comic Con day. I get a free pass today to wander around and look at graphic novels. Hopefully, I will get a chance to pick up some free graphic novel donations as well as numerous catalogs and bookmarks. We like to get bookmarks to give away for the teenage programs. Last time I was there they had free DC and Marvel bookmarks which we gave to the teenagers. Hopefully there will be some free manga material we can use in our manga program at the library.
I am going to get a chance to see a lot of people that I recognize or know when I go this morning. My pass is ready. I have to pick up a convention book. There is a screening of a film on Will Eisner which I want to see. I'll probably walk the whole convention floor. The last time I was at the show, there were also several science fiction publishers, a few gaming publishers, and a few oddball exhibits.
I am a bit tired from the workshop yesterday, but I am really looking forward to this convention. I hope they have a lot of freebies. I actually bought a few things last year.
I am going to concentrate on writing my experience at the convention today. I already have finished reading the Rabbi's Cat 1 & 2, and am about to start reading The Ten Cent Plague. However, I think it might be interesting to write my experience of seeing the big convention.
Hopefully a few of you people will be there. Look for me anonymously. Anyways, I am off to start my day. The Jacob Javits Center where the convention is being held is positively enormous. It will take me the whole day to look around.
I never did see the film on Will Eisner, I did get to see some other panels, though. I got there at nine o'clock a.m. The floor did not open until 10 a.m. I spent some time organizing which booths I would go to by floor location. This way, I could visit the booths I wanted to see first then wander. Here is the order
Darkorse (Comic Book Company) #823
Activision (Game Company) #1048
Wizard (Magazine) #1056
Marvel Comics #1141
Publishers Weekly #1164
Diamond Comics Distributor #1231
Tokyopop (Manga) #1321
Image (Comics) #1407
Oni (Comics) #1413
Tor Books #1533
DC Comics #1627
Nickelodeon #1657
Harper Collins #1814
NBM #1917
Penguin #1941
Random House #1920, 1921
Fantagraphics #1948
I basically was looking around to see what they had which we might get for our library. I was surprised by the number of publishers that said that I should look at their website, they no longer sent out catalogs. I ended up giving my address and name at six different places to request paper catalogs and free samples of material. I also picked up a variety of free items which will most likely be added to our collection. I picked up two hardcover books, a dozen free paperbacks including a star wars and several star trek paperbacks, the 30 Days of Night Adaptation to novel form from the movie, and four graphic novels.
This is nothing like Book Expo America, last time I was there I paid to ship 100 pounds of free books and material back to my library. Compared to the book industry, the comic book industry is quite parsimonious. Most of the time they ask you to pay for things at a discount.
I found a really interesting press, Dorchester Publishing which was displaying the hard case crime series, I ended buying a Max Alan Collins Paperback, Deadly Beloved, The first ever Ms. Tree Novel. Ms. Tree was a famous syndicated hardboiled mystery cartoon written during the 1980s and 1990s. It is one of the better black and white mystery noir comics that I have seen. Max Allan Collins also wrote Road to Perdition which was turned into both a graphic novel and a movie. I rather enjoyed the graphic novel.
I ended up walking around for some four hours total. I looked for something to eat, but a sandwich costed $8.00 and I decided it would be better if I just ate when I got home. Drinks were still $3.75 for a soda which was a bit outrageous.
After walking around for quite a bit, I sat down and rested my feet. By that time it was 2:00 P.M. I decided to go and see a few of the panels that they were doing. The First panel was a Choosing The News, The Changing Face of Online Journalism:
Quoting the catalog description:
It's a fact - journalism has changed. With more outlets than ever, more demands from news sources, and comics increasingly covered by the mainstream, how do comics news sites navigate the uncharted waters? Join Matt Brady (Newsarama), Richard George (IGN), Rick Marshall (ComicMix), Brian Heater (Daily Cross Hatch) and others for this engaging discussion, moderated by The Beat's Heidi MacDonald.
Most of the discussion was not focused so much on actual news but what the process was. They said basically, you have to put out news every single day, those who work harder are the ones who win in the end. Also, you have to produce more original content, it is too easy to just take a press release and stick it on your site. This is really a waste of time because it does not have any unique opinion. They pointed out that hype is read a lot more than real journalism, people basically want to be entertained more than get good criticism. Also, you have to watch viral announcements, it is like giving away free advertising and you don't want to do that necessarily.
The next panel which I saw was at 3:00 P.M. It was a set of comic books legends. I am going to list and summarize what I think each one said from:
Joe Simon: Joe simon is most famous for creating Captain America with Jack Kirby. We should bring back the spirit of Captain America without his shield and all the extra gadgets just like he was before. Captain America is the symbol of American spirit and we really need that right now. My brightest student was Stan Lee, and Stan Lee andJack Kirby were the best team together.
Joe Sinnott: The greatest person is Stan Lee I have been working with him for over 58 years. My favorite comic book work was on the Beatles and Babe Ruth.
Murphy Anderson: I worked in the production department in DC comics. I think the greatest comic book artist was Will Eisner.
Jerry Robinson: I remember curating a show at The Kennedy Center. They spent $100 for my picture of the joker, and across the room was a pop art picture of the Joker by an artist named Ramos that was insured for $300,000.
Stan Lee: My greatest contribution will be determined by posterity in the future. My real greatest contribution was paying my wifes allowance. Jack Kirby was the greatest comic artist, he had a tremendous ability to tell a story.
Ramona Fradon: There was never any discrimination against her in the comic books industry. But, sometimes it got a little scary in the afternoon in the bullpen when everyone was yelling. Her most important influence was a woman named Linda Fight. She drew aquaman, plastic man, and Brenda Starr.
Dick Ayers: I had nothing left from Marvel or DC, they still had all of my work. I was writing an autobiography because I wanted to write a story, but I couldn't I could only draw it. When I was contacted by publishers to see if I had any work, I ended up producing my autobiography. I started as a magazine editor. Gene Colan was my the best artist.
Irwin Hayson: When I was drawing Wonder Woman, it drove me to go out with a lot of really tall women. Dondi, my syndicated newspaper strip was a labor of love.
Carmine Infantino: John Infantino, my son is doing marvelous work, much better than I ever did. He also got in in time to get the benefits which we never had during the silver age of comics. My greatest influence was Milton Caniff, I tried to draw like him but never could.
At the beginning of the panel, everyone was clapping and cheering for the artists and editors as they were heading to the stage. There were at least five people with cameras shooting footage of the show. In addition people were taking pictures and using their cell phones to take pictures. A few people were on their laptops typing things up.
This panel was truly incredible to watch. It represented from the beginnings of the comic book industries until the present day.
The last panel I attended was from 4:00-5:00 p.m., Weird Tales-- 85 Years, 85 Storytellers. This panel was on the history of Weird Tales magazine. The panelists were several people from the latest incarnation of weird tales. There was also an archival specialist who was working with Weird Tales. Weird Tales was the first magazine exclusively focused on science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Originally, the stories were not called that. They were simply stories about weird things. It was the source of H.P. Lovecraft (Modern Horror), Robert E. Howard (Swords and Sorcery, and Clark Ashton Smith (Fantasy Poetry or gothic tales.)
I would contest this one, I think Sidney H. Sime, although not as well known as Clark Ashton Smith was the precursor for gothic poetry.
Weird Tales has started adding comic book inserts into the magazine. The panelists said that many of EC Comics stories during the 1950's originated in Weird Tales.
They suggested the March/ April 2008 issue was available at Table D 33 for sale for $5.00. I think the lady was worried that I was going to ask for it for free. I paid the $5.00. The issue is kind of interesting. I am looking at the 85 Weirdest Storytellers of the Past 85 Years article on Pp. 24-41. I haven't actually read it yet.
Anyways, I finished the convention and sat down for a little bit. Then I went to catch a taxi. The taxi man wanted $20.00 for a trip from 34th street to 42nd street. I decided to take a pass and walk to the subway. On the way home, I read a little bit of a star wars paperback in one of the bags which I brought home with me.
I got home and sorted the books which I would keep at home and those which I would bring back to work. I put all of my publishers catalogs, nick nacks, and bookmarks in a separate bag for work. I put this bag in my bag with the books I am bringing in tomorrow.
What I have left is a bunch of Advanced Reading Copies which we are not supposed to add to the library. Adding them is forbidden by the publishers. Some of the Advanced Reading Copies or Advanced Uncorrected Proofs are The Dangerous Days of Daniel by James Patterson and Michael Ledgwick, Little Brown, Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link, Little Brown, The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono, Tokypop, Chalice by Robin McKinley, My Incredible Wonderful Miserable Life by Adam Nimoy (Adam Nimoy is the son of Leonard Nimoy), Daniel X Alien Hunter, A Graphic Novel by James Patterson and Leopoldo Gout, Little Brown. This is the first advanced reading copy of a graphic novel which I have seen.
I also received an interesting graphic novel designed for literacy. It is called The Word Eater by Michael Dahl. The RL is: 2.9 2nd grade, 9th month. The main character is a librarian. He is the hero. I rather like this idea. It is quite appealing.
I am going to get a chance to see a lot of people that I recognize or know when I go this morning. My pass is ready. I have to pick up a convention book. There is a screening of a film on Will Eisner which I want to see. I'll probably walk the whole convention floor. The last time I was at the show, there were also several science fiction publishers, a few gaming publishers, and a few oddball exhibits.
I am a bit tired from the workshop yesterday, but I am really looking forward to this convention. I hope they have a lot of freebies. I actually bought a few things last year.
I am going to concentrate on writing my experience at the convention today. I already have finished reading the Rabbi's Cat 1 & 2, and am about to start reading The Ten Cent Plague. However, I think it might be interesting to write my experience of seeing the big convention.
Hopefully a few of you people will be there. Look for me anonymously. Anyways, I am off to start my day. The Jacob Javits Center where the convention is being held is positively enormous. It will take me the whole day to look around.
I never did see the film on Will Eisner, I did get to see some other panels, though. I got there at nine o'clock a.m. The floor did not open until 10 a.m. I spent some time organizing which booths I would go to by floor location. This way, I could visit the booths I wanted to see first then wander. Here is the order
Darkorse (Comic Book Company) #823
Activision (Game Company) #1048
Wizard (Magazine) #1056
Marvel Comics #1141
Publishers Weekly #1164
Diamond Comics Distributor #1231
Tokyopop (Manga) #1321
Image (Comics) #1407
Oni (Comics) #1413
Tor Books #1533
DC Comics #1627
Nickelodeon #1657
Harper Collins #1814
NBM #1917
Penguin #1941
Random House #1920, 1921
Fantagraphics #1948
I basically was looking around to see what they had which we might get for our library. I was surprised by the number of publishers that said that I should look at their website, they no longer sent out catalogs. I ended up giving my address and name at six different places to request paper catalogs and free samples of material. I also picked up a variety of free items which will most likely be added to our collection. I picked up two hardcover books, a dozen free paperbacks including a star wars and several star trek paperbacks, the 30 Days of Night Adaptation to novel form from the movie, and four graphic novels.
This is nothing like Book Expo America, last time I was there I paid to ship 100 pounds of free books and material back to my library. Compared to the book industry, the comic book industry is quite parsimonious. Most of the time they ask you to pay for things at a discount.
I found a really interesting press, Dorchester Publishing which was displaying the hard case crime series, I ended buying a Max Alan Collins Paperback, Deadly Beloved, The first ever Ms. Tree Novel. Ms. Tree was a famous syndicated hardboiled mystery cartoon written during the 1980s and 1990s. It is one of the better black and white mystery noir comics that I have seen. Max Allan Collins also wrote Road to Perdition which was turned into both a graphic novel and a movie. I rather enjoyed the graphic novel.
I ended up walking around for some four hours total. I looked for something to eat, but a sandwich costed $8.00 and I decided it would be better if I just ate when I got home. Drinks were still $3.75 for a soda which was a bit outrageous.
After walking around for quite a bit, I sat down and rested my feet. By that time it was 2:00 P.M. I decided to go and see a few of the panels that they were doing. The First panel was a Choosing The News, The Changing Face of Online Journalism:
Quoting the catalog description:
It's a fact - journalism has changed. With more outlets than ever, more demands from news sources, and comics increasingly covered by the mainstream, how do comics news sites navigate the uncharted waters? Join Matt Brady (Newsarama), Richard George (IGN), Rick Marshall (ComicMix), Brian Heater (Daily Cross Hatch) and others for this engaging discussion, moderated by The Beat's Heidi MacDonald.
Most of the discussion was not focused so much on actual news but what the process was. They said basically, you have to put out news every single day, those who work harder are the ones who win in the end. Also, you have to produce more original content, it is too easy to just take a press release and stick it on your site. This is really a waste of time because it does not have any unique opinion. They pointed out that hype is read a lot more than real journalism, people basically want to be entertained more than get good criticism. Also, you have to watch viral announcements, it is like giving away free advertising and you don't want to do that necessarily.
The next panel which I saw was at 3:00 P.M. It was a set of comic books legends. I am going to list and summarize what I think each one said from:
Joe Simon: Joe simon is most famous for creating Captain America with Jack Kirby. We should bring back the spirit of Captain America without his shield and all the extra gadgets just like he was before. Captain America is the symbol of American spirit and we really need that right now. My brightest student was Stan Lee, and Stan Lee andJack Kirby were the best team together.
Joe Sinnott: The greatest person is Stan Lee I have been working with him for over 58 years. My favorite comic book work was on the Beatles and Babe Ruth.
Murphy Anderson: I worked in the production department in DC comics. I think the greatest comic book artist was Will Eisner.
Jerry Robinson: I remember curating a show at The Kennedy Center. They spent $100 for my picture of the joker, and across the room was a pop art picture of the Joker by an artist named Ramos that was insured for $300,000.
Stan Lee: My greatest contribution will be determined by posterity in the future. My real greatest contribution was paying my wifes allowance. Jack Kirby was the greatest comic artist, he had a tremendous ability to tell a story.
Ramona Fradon: There was never any discrimination against her in the comic books industry. But, sometimes it got a little scary in the afternoon in the bullpen when everyone was yelling. Her most important influence was a woman named Linda Fight. She drew aquaman, plastic man, and Brenda Starr.
Dick Ayers: I had nothing left from Marvel or DC, they still had all of my work. I was writing an autobiography because I wanted to write a story, but I couldn't I could only draw it. When I was contacted by publishers to see if I had any work, I ended up producing my autobiography. I started as a magazine editor. Gene Colan was my the best artist.
Irwin Hayson: When I was drawing Wonder Woman, it drove me to go out with a lot of really tall women. Dondi, my syndicated newspaper strip was a labor of love.
Carmine Infantino: John Infantino, my son is doing marvelous work, much better than I ever did. He also got in in time to get the benefits which we never had during the silver age of comics. My greatest influence was Milton Caniff, I tried to draw like him but never could.
At the beginning of the panel, everyone was clapping and cheering for the artists and editors as they were heading to the stage. There were at least five people with cameras shooting footage of the show. In addition people were taking pictures and using their cell phones to take pictures. A few people were on their laptops typing things up.
This panel was truly incredible to watch. It represented from the beginnings of the comic book industries until the present day.
The last panel I attended was from 4:00-5:00 p.m., Weird Tales-- 85 Years, 85 Storytellers. This panel was on the history of Weird Tales magazine. The panelists were several people from the latest incarnation of weird tales. There was also an archival specialist who was working with Weird Tales. Weird Tales was the first magazine exclusively focused on science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Originally, the stories were not called that. They were simply stories about weird things. It was the source of H.P. Lovecraft (Modern Horror), Robert E. Howard (Swords and Sorcery, and Clark Ashton Smith (Fantasy Poetry or gothic tales.)
I would contest this one, I think Sidney H. Sime, although not as well known as Clark Ashton Smith was the precursor for gothic poetry.
Weird Tales has started adding comic book inserts into the magazine. The panelists said that many of EC Comics stories during the 1950's originated in Weird Tales.
They suggested the March/ April 2008 issue was available at Table D 33 for sale for $5.00. I think the lady was worried that I was going to ask for it for free. I paid the $5.00. The issue is kind of interesting. I am looking at the 85 Weirdest Storytellers of the Past 85 Years article on Pp. 24-41. I haven't actually read it yet.
Anyways, I finished the convention and sat down for a little bit. Then I went to catch a taxi. The taxi man wanted $20.00 for a trip from 34th street to 42nd street. I decided to take a pass and walk to the subway. On the way home, I read a little bit of a star wars paperback in one of the bags which I brought home with me.
I got home and sorted the books which I would keep at home and those which I would bring back to work. I put all of my publishers catalogs, nick nacks, and bookmarks in a separate bag for work. I put this bag in my bag with the books I am bringing in tomorrow.
What I have left is a bunch of Advanced Reading Copies which we are not supposed to add to the library. Adding them is forbidden by the publishers. Some of the Advanced Reading Copies or Advanced Uncorrected Proofs are The Dangerous Days of Daniel by James Patterson and Michael Ledgwick, Little Brown, Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link, Little Brown, The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono, Tokypop, Chalice by Robin McKinley, My Incredible Wonderful Miserable Life by Adam Nimoy (Adam Nimoy is the son of Leonard Nimoy), Daniel X Alien Hunter, A Graphic Novel by James Patterson and Leopoldo Gout, Little Brown. This is the first advanced reading copy of a graphic novel which I have seen.
I also received an interesting graphic novel designed for literacy. It is called The Word Eater by Michael Dahl. The RL is: 2.9 2nd grade, 9th month. The main character is a librarian. He is the hero. I rather like this idea. It is quite appealing.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Morning Thoughts. Afternoon Thoughts. Evening Though.
Right now, I am drinking a cup of tea with lemon and honey, it is 9:30 a.m.I tried to pay my Comic Book Legal Defense Fund membership, I will have to call them, their online payment system didn't work. Oh well. I started reading one of Nancy Pearl's selections from Book Lust, The Professor and the Madman, A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. So far it has been enjoyable to read.
I have another book to consider reading Possession by A.S. Byatt.
I haven't checked to see which books have come in through interlibrary loan. The interlibrary loan books come in big plastic tubs which are practically indestructible. These are far more practical than cardboard boxes which usually end up breaking and costing more money in the long run. I usually check in the early afternoon when they are finishing checking in the interlibrary loans for the day.
I have been checking on my advertising. Adsense made me $1.55 in the last couple days. There may be real hope for Google adsense. I have 3 cents coming to me from Project Wonderful so I am on my way to my can of selter water. Amazon has stalled for a bit so that is alright.
I checked my various member sites and looked at a few new sites to add to my fuelmyblog widget, as well as my friends section in blogcatalog. I also noticed that entrecard has a favorites section for blogs. I'll add some favorites to my page to generate some goodwill.
Tomorrow, I am going to the New York City Publishers Reception at the Kitano Hotel for the Information Industry Summit. It should be fairly interesting. I am going on library time, so I will have to describe it to my supervisors and spend at least a little bit of time talking about things relative to libraries. I might write a short one page description as well.
I am debating about what I should wear. I'll probably wear slacks and a black turtleneck sweater. Something casual.
The morning has started off well for me. I'll write more as I think of new things.
I have another book to consider reading Possession by A.S. Byatt.
I haven't checked to see which books have come in through interlibrary loan. The interlibrary loan books come in big plastic tubs which are practically indestructible. These are far more practical than cardboard boxes which usually end up breaking and costing more money in the long run. I usually check in the early afternoon when they are finishing checking in the interlibrary loans for the day.
I have been checking on my advertising. Adsense made me $1.55 in the last couple days. There may be real hope for Google adsense. I have 3 cents coming to me from Project Wonderful so I am on my way to my can of selter water. Amazon has stalled for a bit so that is alright.
I checked my various member sites and looked at a few new sites to add to my fuelmyblog widget, as well as my friends section in blogcatalog. I also noticed that entrecard has a favorites section for blogs. I'll add some favorites to my page to generate some goodwill.
Tomorrow, I am going to the New York City Publishers Reception at the Kitano Hotel for the Information Industry Summit. It should be fairly interesting. I am going on library time, so I will have to describe it to my supervisors and spend at least a little bit of time talking about things relative to libraries. I might write a short one page description as well.
I am debating about what I should wear. I'll probably wear slacks and a black turtleneck sweater. Something casual.
The morning has started off well for me. I'll write more as I think of new things.
I took a look through the Bookaholic blogring and looked at two blogs which I like a lot, http://teareads.blogspot.com/ , a very genteel seeming book blog, and http://kimbooktu.wordpress.com/ a blog with a nice directory of book sites, and commentary on book related technologies like bookmarks, playaways, and ebook readers.
It has reached afternoon. I had a brief lunch. My holds have come in. The book Oil by Upton Sinclair has come in. It is the basis for the academy award winning film There Will be Blood. Someone asked me to read it earlier. I also have Sunshine by Robin McKinley, a Mythopoeic award winning book, and a book which a patron was taking out, Creating A World Without Poverty Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus. Muhammad Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. This book should be both important and interesting.
I called in this evening. I am a standby juror tomorrow. I get to sit until they maybe call me and read. I will bring a few books to sit in the waiting room. I have to bring a pen. I wonder why.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Books And Chicken.
There is a famous saying that librarians survive on "Books and Chicken". Because I am already in the library I can get most of my magazines, books, dvds, cds, and videos that I want to watch or use fairly easily.
But, a librarians salary does not let you spend a whole lot on things. This means many public librarians bring their entertainment home from their job. I bring several videos and books home every week from where I work. It is natural that librarians become specialists in the things which they happen to like.
My boss orders most of the videos in the collection. I end up ordering a lot of the graphic novels.
This is probably even more true for booksellers. Most booksellers don't earn huge amounts of money, they are doing their job for the love of books. In New England, it is traditional for many booksellers to have their living quarters directly above their shop. They pay down their mortgage and eventually have a piece of property.
Even with the closing of many small bookstores this can still be said to be true. Instead of selling out of a storefront many booksellers sell directly out of their garage or house on ebay or other online services. This was even true before the internet. Instead of having a web site, many specialty booksellers would have a printed catalog of their books for sale which they would send out to customers. The customer would either meet the person to pick up the book or get the book by mail order. I think of mail order having just moved to the internet.
It used to be to find the price of a book before the internet you would look in small catalogs put out by specialty mail order places, auction catalogs where lots and blocks of books were sold. Also there was something called Bookman's Price Index which is a huge reference work by year which lists the price of a book. Then there were various price guides for books, paperback books, comic books, and other books. The standard price guide to comic books in the United States which is most used is the Overstreet Comic Books Price Guide. We have a copy at our library. You would look through these, approximate the condition and rarity of the item and then price it accordingly.
You might also wander around to other bookstores and see how they were pricing books and check their inventory. Sometimes, the bookseller might even buy something which you thought was mispriced by another bookstore. Booksellers are like a giant grumpy fraternity which can't survive without other booksellers.
Now, there is the internet where you can see comparative prices for books instantly on places like abebooks.com. The prices seem to vary wildly when you are looking for books. But, the variations in prices are not just about the item. People often buy from a particular seller paying a higher price, because they are more accurate in grading their items, have better shipping and handling policies, and better customer service.
There is an ambivalent relationship between librarians and booksellers. Because of this relationship, The Friends of the Library are the ones who hold the book sales to avoid conflict of interest. I have known many librarians who have worked part-time in bookstores on the side to earn extra money or just because they are really obsessed with books. Sometimes, I think it is more likely, they are obsessed with books.
It seems there is a revolving door between publisher, librarian, and bookseller. People who publish library books, especially reference books often hire librarians. Baker & Taylor and Ingram the giant distributors all hire librarians to help libraries select which materials to buy.
Now, the bookseller and librarian are spreading into the internet. Google, Yahoo, and most of the big search engines hire librarians to index and tag their databases. With Google and Microsoft building specialty search engines for books it creates even more of an interconnection.
I am writing this as I search for the Secret History of Moscow which I am almost done reading. I wanted ro read it, but I put it down and can't find it for the moment. I'll find it later today and write a review.
But, a librarians salary does not let you spend a whole lot on things. This means many public librarians bring their entertainment home from their job. I bring several videos and books home every week from where I work. It is natural that librarians become specialists in the things which they happen to like.
My boss orders most of the videos in the collection. I end up ordering a lot of the graphic novels.
This is probably even more true for booksellers. Most booksellers don't earn huge amounts of money, they are doing their job for the love of books. In New England, it is traditional for many booksellers to have their living quarters directly above their shop. They pay down their mortgage and eventually have a piece of property.
Even with the closing of many small bookstores this can still be said to be true. Instead of selling out of a storefront many booksellers sell directly out of their garage or house on ebay or other online services. This was even true before the internet. Instead of having a web site, many specialty booksellers would have a printed catalog of their books for sale which they would send out to customers. The customer would either meet the person to pick up the book or get the book by mail order. I think of mail order having just moved to the internet.
It used to be to find the price of a book before the internet you would look in small catalogs put out by specialty mail order places, auction catalogs where lots and blocks of books were sold. Also there was something called Bookman's Price Index which is a huge reference work by year which lists the price of a book. Then there were various price guides for books, paperback books, comic books, and other books. The standard price guide to comic books in the United States which is most used is the Overstreet Comic Books Price Guide. We have a copy at our library. You would look through these, approximate the condition and rarity of the item and then price it accordingly.
You might also wander around to other bookstores and see how they were pricing books and check their inventory. Sometimes, the bookseller might even buy something which you thought was mispriced by another bookstore. Booksellers are like a giant grumpy fraternity which can't survive without other booksellers.
Now, there is the internet where you can see comparative prices for books instantly on places like abebooks.com. The prices seem to vary wildly when you are looking for books. But, the variations in prices are not just about the item. People often buy from a particular seller paying a higher price, because they are more accurate in grading their items, have better shipping and handling policies, and better customer service.
There is an ambivalent relationship between librarians and booksellers. Because of this relationship, The Friends of the Library are the ones who hold the book sales to avoid conflict of interest. I have known many librarians who have worked part-time in bookstores on the side to earn extra money or just because they are really obsessed with books. Sometimes, I think it is more likely, they are obsessed with books.
It seems there is a revolving door between publisher, librarian, and bookseller. People who publish library books, especially reference books often hire librarians. Baker & Taylor and Ingram the giant distributors all hire librarians to help libraries select which materials to buy.
Now, the bookseller and librarian are spreading into the internet. Google, Yahoo, and most of the big search engines hire librarians to index and tag their databases. With Google and Microsoft building specialty search engines for books it creates even more of an interconnection.
I am writing this as I search for the Secret History of Moscow which I am almost done reading. I wanted ro read it, but I put it down and can't find it for the moment. I'll find it later today and write a review.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Random Thoughts In No Meaningful Order
Image of A Social Network. Think of the button labeled as an individual as an individual website or blog. (Thought Experiment).Today, I am at the library again. I had three books waiting for me this morning, Ekaterina Sedia, The Secret History of Moscow, Ron Pernick, The Clean Tech Revolution, and David Sandalow, Freedom From Oil.
I check out my books every time. This is to increase circulation of books. The more circulation or items checked out, the more likely that the library will get additional federal, state, and city funding. The government wants you to use the library. I want you to use the library. Be literate, read.
I handed over my plastic library card to the clerk and she zapped the books with the scanner. Then there was that clicking sound you hear of the printer spitting out the receipt with the due dates for the books. For me, it is a wonderful sound.
Now, I have something to read and review for your enjoyment.
___________________________________________________________________
I spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to promote this blog. I have tried entrecard, blogcatalog, and fuelmyblog. I have even asked people to exchange links. I do look at a lot of different peoples blogs to see who is doing a very good job.
It takes quite a bit of time to do this. I've found the best way to find good blog sites is not to search for them by using search engines. Search engines do not find social networks. I find a blog which I like in a particular category like books or writing, then I check the links which lead away from the blog. I do spend time looking at a lot of different peoples sites. When one person has a lot of links to their site, I consider it a hub or central point to look for other sites. These are the best places to find the good sites.
Like sites attract like quality. So a high quality hub site is what I am looking for when I am looking at blogs. A place with very good writing or recommendations of books is my ideal blog find. If it has a lot of high quality links that is a very good sign. Huge numbers of links are unimpressive, they just create clutter. In the case of friends like in blogcatalog, the ideal number of friends I'd say is about 100-200 with very high selectivity.
I am also looking for people who are part of multiple communities. People who are members of lets say three directory sites, or have membership in a couple different blog rings. These connections form webs kind of like a spider, with one hub leading to the center of the next hub. However, if you think of it, it is more like a ball with links spreading out from each separate center.
Anyways, these are my thoughts for the moment.
I check out my books every time. This is to increase circulation of books. The more circulation or items checked out, the more likely that the library will get additional federal, state, and city funding. The government wants you to use the library. I want you to use the library. Be literate, read.
I handed over my plastic library card to the clerk and she zapped the books with the scanner. Then there was that clicking sound you hear of the printer spitting out the receipt with the due dates for the books. For me, it is a wonderful sound.
Now, I have something to read and review for your enjoyment.
___________________________________________________________________
I spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to promote this blog. I have tried entrecard, blogcatalog, and fuelmyblog. I have even asked people to exchange links. I do look at a lot of different peoples blogs to see who is doing a very good job.
It takes quite a bit of time to do this. I've found the best way to find good blog sites is not to search for them by using search engines. Search engines do not find social networks. I find a blog which I like in a particular category like books or writing, then I check the links which lead away from the blog. I do spend time looking at a lot of different peoples sites. When one person has a lot of links to their site, I consider it a hub or central point to look for other sites. These are the best places to find the good sites.
Like sites attract like quality. So a high quality hub site is what I am looking for when I am looking at blogs. A place with very good writing or recommendations of books is my ideal blog find. If it has a lot of high quality links that is a very good sign. Huge numbers of links are unimpressive, they just create clutter. In the case of friends like in blogcatalog, the ideal number of friends I'd say is about 100-200 with very high selectivity.
I am also looking for people who are part of multiple communities. People who are members of lets say three directory sites, or have membership in a couple different blog rings. These connections form webs kind of like a spider, with one hub leading to the center of the next hub. However, if you think of it, it is more like a ball with links spreading out from each separate center.
Anyways, these are my thoughts for the moment.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Writing, Poetry, And Thoughts On Writing
Good morning,
I am trying to think about what I am going to write about today. I'm almost at a loss for words. Alright, I'm going to write something about writing and a few of my experiences.
I've always had problems with grammar and structure. I've tried various books like Grammar the Easy Way, Basic English Grammar. You know the big books put out by Arco's and Barrons that supposedly can remediate anything, but really are only halfway there.
I once took a class from John Ordover who is a rather interesting person, he once was an editor for the Star Trek books, and arranges nude dinners at restaurants in Manhattan. He suggested that I should work on my grammar and structure. I even sent in a copy of my story to a magazine and got a rejection letter. I threw it away. I never got back to writing science fiction stories.
Now, I am writing a blog which really requires no qualifications other than willingness. I never will get rejection letters, just people choosing not to use my site because they don't like my grammar. There are always people like this. People want perfect grammar, spelling, and diction. I always mix up the present and past tenses.
If I sent the posts from this blog into an editor, they would throw it in the trash. I was taking another class, Introduction to Publishing at New York University, and I learned a little bit about publishing.
One of the things which is required when sending in manuscripts is near perfect grammar, it costs money for editors and proofreaders to correct your work. This is money the publishing houses aren't willing to pay for if you have too many grammatical mistakes.
The publishing houses have big slush piles where they put most of the books and manuscripts which come in unsolicited. I haven't ever seen any of these piles. But, if they say it, it must be true.
Of course, there is an exception to this rule. books by famous people. William Shatner uses Ron Goulart to help him write his Tek series of science fiction books. William Shatner's name is on the books, but not Ron Goulart's. If you are famous, the publishing houses will find a writer to write your books for you.
Anyways, lets get back to our subject writing. My understanding is that for most writers, it takes about a year to write a book, a steady one to two pages a day of writing. Maybe, a poem a day if you are a poet.
Poets usually don't make their money from writing, they make their money from doing writing workshops and teaching for the most part. They are often teachers for creative writing at various colleges. Poetry books tend to have very small runs and not cost very much.
Some people say I am a decent poet, but there is something unsavory about writing poetry which I can't put my fingers on. I do like a variety of poets. Some of my favorite poets are Bob Kaufman, Thoedore Roethke, Charles Bukowski, Diane Wakoski, and Baudelaire. Most of the poetry published by Black Sparrow Books originally started by Charles Bukowski is quite good http://www.blacksparrowbooks.com/index.asp. Jack Kerouac is also a very good poet, however, if you learn more about him personally, he wasn't exactly pleasant. It takes a certain emotional strength and depth to write very good poetry. I think of poetry as an older persons art.
If you are ever in San Francisco and you are interested in poetry and bookstores, City Lights books http://citylights.com/ is a really fantastic place to get poetry books. Lawrence Ferlinghetti helped found the store in 1953. They have quite a bit of Allen Ginsberg's work there and were involved in the infamous Howl trial. City Lights is both a radical bookstore and a poetry bookstore.
An awful lot of poetry books in the United States are distributed by SPD-- Small Press Distribution Books http://www.spdbooks.org/ . This is a nonprofit book distributor focused on distributing new literature. It is often very high quality books which would never have been distributed otherwise. For example, Dalkey Archive Press is distributed by SPD Books, a highly literary press. http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/ Nicholas Mosley, one of my favorite writers, a somewhat controversial writer as well is distributed by Dalkey Archive Press.
I am wondering how I got into this subject, usually I write about science fiction. I am writing about something different today. Real literary works are very hard to get published. The major publishers are in the business of making money, not art designed to last forever. Bestsellers are what most of the major presses are looking for. There are almost never poetry books or literary novels on the bestseller lists.
___________________________________________________________________
I am trying to think about what I am going to write about today. I'm almost at a loss for words. Alright, I'm going to write something about writing and a few of my experiences.
I've always had problems with grammar and structure. I've tried various books like Grammar the Easy Way, Basic English Grammar. You know the big books put out by Arco's and Barrons that supposedly can remediate anything, but really are only halfway there.
I once took a class from John Ordover who is a rather interesting person, he once was an editor for the Star Trek books, and arranges nude dinners at restaurants in Manhattan. He suggested that I should work on my grammar and structure. I even sent in a copy of my story to a magazine and got a rejection letter. I threw it away. I never got back to writing science fiction stories.
Now, I am writing a blog which really requires no qualifications other than willingness. I never will get rejection letters, just people choosing not to use my site because they don't like my grammar. There are always people like this. People want perfect grammar, spelling, and diction. I always mix up the present and past tenses.
If I sent the posts from this blog into an editor, they would throw it in the trash. I was taking another class, Introduction to Publishing at New York University, and I learned a little bit about publishing.
One of the things which is required when sending in manuscripts is near perfect grammar, it costs money for editors and proofreaders to correct your work. This is money the publishing houses aren't willing to pay for if you have too many grammatical mistakes.
The publishing houses have big slush piles where they put most of the books and manuscripts which come in unsolicited. I haven't ever seen any of these piles. But, if they say it, it must be true.
Of course, there is an exception to this rule. books by famous people. William Shatner uses Ron Goulart to help him write his Tek series of science fiction books. William Shatner's name is on the books, but not Ron Goulart's. If you are famous, the publishing houses will find a writer to write your books for you.
Anyways, lets get back to our subject writing. My understanding is that for most writers, it takes about a year to write a book, a steady one to two pages a day of writing. Maybe, a poem a day if you are a poet.
Poets usually don't make their money from writing, they make their money from doing writing workshops and teaching for the most part. They are often teachers for creative writing at various colleges. Poetry books tend to have very small runs and not cost very much.
Some people say I am a decent poet, but there is something unsavory about writing poetry which I can't put my fingers on. I do like a variety of poets. Some of my favorite poets are Bob Kaufman, Thoedore Roethke, Charles Bukowski, Diane Wakoski, and Baudelaire. Most of the poetry published by Black Sparrow Books originally started by Charles Bukowski is quite good http://www.blacksparrowbooks.com/index.asp. Jack Kerouac is also a very good poet, however, if you learn more about him personally, he wasn't exactly pleasant. It takes a certain emotional strength and depth to write very good poetry. I think of poetry as an older persons art.
If you are ever in San Francisco and you are interested in poetry and bookstores, City Lights books http://citylights.com/ is a really fantastic place to get poetry books. Lawrence Ferlinghetti helped found the store in 1953. They have quite a bit of Allen Ginsberg's work there and were involved in the infamous Howl trial. City Lights is both a radical bookstore and a poetry bookstore.
An awful lot of poetry books in the United States are distributed by SPD-- Small Press Distribution Books http://www.spdbooks.org/ . This is a nonprofit book distributor focused on distributing new literature. It is often very high quality books which would never have been distributed otherwise. For example, Dalkey Archive Press is distributed by SPD Books, a highly literary press. http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/ Nicholas Mosley, one of my favorite writers, a somewhat controversial writer as well is distributed by Dalkey Archive Press.
I am wondering how I got into this subject, usually I write about science fiction. I am writing about something different today. Real literary works are very hard to get published. The major publishers are in the business of making money, not art designed to last forever. Bestsellers are what most of the major presses are looking for. There are almost never poetry books or literary novels on the bestseller lists.
___________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
To Read or Not To Read-- NEA Study
The United States Library of Congress
This is a commentary on the NEA-- National Endowment for the arts study, To Read or Not To Read, A Question of National Consequence, http://www.nea.gov/research/ToRead.pdf . This is an incredible study, it shows that American reading and writing skills are declining in every category. People are losing their interest in literature in general. If you want to think of it this way on the web, not a single keyword in the top ten lists of keywords includes books or literature. Movies and music, but not books.
We are in essence creating our own Fahrenheit 451 by turning away from the habit of reading. As people buy less books, they become less of a commodity and they lose their importance in our minds. This study says even if we are reading, 35% of the time we are distracted by something else, the computer, music, email, the telephone, or any of another plethora of available media. We live in a distractive instant gratification environment which reinforces itself.
Teens are not reading, they are watching television, listening to music, or using one of a million different devices to fill their time, the ipod, the iphone, the pager, the portable psp play station, or the portable computer. When they come into where I am working, they head in to sign up for the computers, mostly to do "graphical research", look for images, anime, cartoons, drawings, or music, very rarely for books. And if they are at the library, a lot of the time, they are not there to get books, they are there to get videos, talk to their friends, or get on the computer. Reading is an assigned habit focused on reading the classics which many of them find dull, complicated, and harrowing. I can see the statistic that half of Americans don't read for pleasure writ clear every day I come in to work.
It is mostly the older Americans who are coming to us to get reading materials for pleasure, the middle aged and the teenagers don't do it so much. And those who do come up to talk to us, often talk about the large amount of books they have in the home. The more books they have, the more prosperous they often are.
In the study, there is a lot of material on how those who have a lot of books in the home do well in school, move up into management, are more likely to be involved in civic activities, and are more likely to succeed in life. This does not just reflect in America, it reflects in our place in the world.
Finland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden all have higher reading scores. This may translate into being more competitive in the international marketplace because quite simply they are better able to use the tools given to them. In my opinion, if Americans don't address the central issue of education for competence in reading and wrting we will lose out in the end.
Our prisons are filling with illiterates. There are far more people in prison who are illiterate than on the outside. It must be manly to not read books.
On a most important note, employers consider reading and writing to be essential skills in the workplace. 93% of employers consider the ability to read and write critical. They seem to be looking for the ability to write with clarity and accuracy to be very important.
When people read less it impacts my profession badly. We are partially funded by circulation statistics, how much people use and read material. So, if you are in a library take that book out when you go home.
The more people that use our libraries, the more money we get. This creates a downward spiral with less funding for libraries as people read less. Will they go to a bookstore instead? Even the bookstores seem to be carrying less reading material and is diversifying into other products, audio books, videos, and software. The bookstore is becoming a media center.
This is a personal example. I used to go to Forbidden Planet in Manhattan to look at science fiction books. They had rows and rows of science fiction boks. Now, they have one book case full of science fiction books, have introduced video games, increased the amount of Manga, a foreign import, and expanded their action figures. People aren't reading the fantasy and science fiction books they were once known for so they had to change considerably.
Even in places where there is a successful bookstore, they are not focusing on literature necessarily, they are focusing on tie-ins, a further sign of distraction. You go see Harry Potter, buy the book by J.K. Rowling, visit the web site, and maybe even listend to the sound track. Media is now a complete package where you have to listen, concentrate, and read. A bookstore is a business, at least that is the way we normally think of it. However, this is changing. A lot of bookstores are folding.
Many of the surviving bookstores are becoming nonprofits and inviting in other forms of entertainment. Nkiru books in Brooklyn, New York for example, an African American bookstore changed into Nkiru cultural center. Housing Works, one of the most successful used bookstores in Manhattan uses its proceeds to help homeless people with AIDS-- Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. It takes donations and sells them. It is a really high quality bookstore. I have seen other bookstores starting to change their status to nonprofit.
So what is happening with those young adults who are not reading, how are they making it through the school system. They can now listen to their assignment, plenty of them come in requesting the complete audiobook of Lord of the Flies, or if they really can't be bothered and can't understand Hamlet, they rent the video instead of reading the book. Reading is a difficult skill for a lot of people.
Less than a third of American teenagers are reading daily. This is problematic. I like to think that as an adult people will at least read the morning paper each day, or listen to someone reading it to them.
We need to do something. I think part of that something comes from the world wide web. People are turning to the internet to do a lot of their writing and reading. The study mentions newspapers losing ground to the internet. The study states the internet is less formal, less edited, and less linear than newspapers. In a way, I approve of this. My grammar is far from perfect, and I do have quite a bit to say. If blogs weren not available, I would not be able to say it to you.
Also people are turning to places where they can talk about themselves like myspace.com, there are over 98 million myspace.com pages a huge amount of writing and reading if you think of it. Also facebook.com has over 17 million pages. The internet is a giant collaborative open book. It gives people an opportunity to express themselves that simply wasn't there before, like I am expressing myself now.
I think the internet is quietly generating a new generation of readers. We can see it in the explosion of interest in urban fiction which comes from the street from people who you normally don't think of as readers and writers. It is violent, full of sex, drugs, and darkness in many ways, but it creates new readers. With the availabiliity of the internet and computers, it opened whole new opportunities for people who would not normally be reading. I can see the hunger for many people who want to read Zane, Noir, Omar Tyree, Chunichi, and other urban fiction writers.
There is a real renaissance in African American writing and reading. This site http://www.aalbc.com/, has grown tremendously since one of my colleagues saw it at Book Expo America in 2005.
People want reading, they just want it to be relevant to their experience. I think a lot of publishers are out of touch and are not producing material that jibes with every day American experiences. I will probably take the time to read "A Free Life" by Ha Jin, because it looks like it reverbates with the American experience. America is becoming a more diverse society. Publishers are just beginning to wake up to change. We are starting to see change with more international writers becoming available in American like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Umberto Eco, Isabel Allende, and Jonathan Carroll who has an amazing personal website http://www.jonathancarroll.com/ .
Also we are seeing a real explosion of poetry. Poetry in print from small presses has just exploded in availability because it is so easy to print books. It is also a form of free expression which takes well to the web. I was at a workshop, Poetry In the Branches, and the presenter said that were five times as many poetry books being printed as there were ten years ago.
We can now print exactly what people want when they want it. Maybe, bookstores and libraries need to be a little more flexible in how they get books to people. With companies like http://www.lightningsource.com/ , it is possible to print books just in time and on demand. We are not far from a future where books become instant as well. Instabook http://www.instabook.net/web/content.php?content.5 . This will change things considerably. It will lead to a different place and job for books and reading in the world.
Maybe we can reverse this trend. I am not quite sure how, but it needs to be done to keep Americans educated, employed, and free.
This is my daily rant. How did this start? I went to my library and found my library card was expired and I needed to go back the next day to renew it so I could take out some books. I found an article about To Read or Not To Read and decided I should look at the study and comment on it instead of going in to the library and getting a book to read. Sometimes, a little bit of the busman's holiday can be bit overwhelming. After all, this study has a chance to have a real impact on me.
I took a walk to my local library again today, but found it was closed. I guess, I should have called beforehand. Tomorrow is Turkey Day, so it will be closed. The walk was very nice though. It gave me a chance to stretch my legs. I always liked walking better than driving.
We are in essence creating our own Fahrenheit 451 by turning away from the habit of reading. As people buy less books, they become less of a commodity and they lose their importance in our minds. This study says even if we are reading, 35% of the time we are distracted by something else, the computer, music, email, the telephone, or any of another plethora of available media. We live in a distractive instant gratification environment which reinforces itself.
Teens are not reading, they are watching television, listening to music, or using one of a million different devices to fill their time, the ipod, the iphone, the pager, the portable psp play station, or the portable computer. When they come into where I am working, they head in to sign up for the computers, mostly to do "graphical research", look for images, anime, cartoons, drawings, or music, very rarely for books. And if they are at the library, a lot of the time, they are not there to get books, they are there to get videos, talk to their friends, or get on the computer. Reading is an assigned habit focused on reading the classics which many of them find dull, complicated, and harrowing. I can see the statistic that half of Americans don't read for pleasure writ clear every day I come in to work.
It is mostly the older Americans who are coming to us to get reading materials for pleasure, the middle aged and the teenagers don't do it so much. And those who do come up to talk to us, often talk about the large amount of books they have in the home. The more books they have, the more prosperous they often are.
In the study, there is a lot of material on how those who have a lot of books in the home do well in school, move up into management, are more likely to be involved in civic activities, and are more likely to succeed in life. This does not just reflect in America, it reflects in our place in the world.
Finland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden all have higher reading scores. This may translate into being more competitive in the international marketplace because quite simply they are better able to use the tools given to them. In my opinion, if Americans don't address the central issue of education for competence in reading and wrting we will lose out in the end.
Our prisons are filling with illiterates. There are far more people in prison who are illiterate than on the outside. It must be manly to not read books.
On a most important note, employers consider reading and writing to be essential skills in the workplace. 93% of employers consider the ability to read and write critical. They seem to be looking for the ability to write with clarity and accuracy to be very important.
When people read less it impacts my profession badly. We are partially funded by circulation statistics, how much people use and read material. So, if you are in a library take that book out when you go home.
The more people that use our libraries, the more money we get. This creates a downward spiral with less funding for libraries as people read less. Will they go to a bookstore instead? Even the bookstores seem to be carrying less reading material and is diversifying into other products, audio books, videos, and software. The bookstore is becoming a media center.
This is a personal example. I used to go to Forbidden Planet in Manhattan to look at science fiction books. They had rows and rows of science fiction boks. Now, they have one book case full of science fiction books, have introduced video games, increased the amount of Manga, a foreign import, and expanded their action figures. People aren't reading the fantasy and science fiction books they were once known for so they had to change considerably.
Even in places where there is a successful bookstore, they are not focusing on literature necessarily, they are focusing on tie-ins, a further sign of distraction. You go see Harry Potter, buy the book by J.K. Rowling, visit the web site, and maybe even listend to the sound track. Media is now a complete package where you have to listen, concentrate, and read. A bookstore is a business, at least that is the way we normally think of it. However, this is changing. A lot of bookstores are folding.
Many of the surviving bookstores are becoming nonprofits and inviting in other forms of entertainment. Nkiru books in Brooklyn, New York for example, an African American bookstore changed into Nkiru cultural center. Housing Works, one of the most successful used bookstores in Manhattan uses its proceeds to help homeless people with AIDS-- Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. It takes donations and sells them. It is a really high quality bookstore. I have seen other bookstores starting to change their status to nonprofit.
So what is happening with those young adults who are not reading, how are they making it through the school system. They can now listen to their assignment, plenty of them come in requesting the complete audiobook of Lord of the Flies, or if they really can't be bothered and can't understand Hamlet, they rent the video instead of reading the book. Reading is a difficult skill for a lot of people.
Less than a third of American teenagers are reading daily. This is problematic. I like to think that as an adult people will at least read the morning paper each day, or listen to someone reading it to them.
We need to do something. I think part of that something comes from the world wide web. People are turning to the internet to do a lot of their writing and reading. The study mentions newspapers losing ground to the internet. The study states the internet is less formal, less edited, and less linear than newspapers. In a way, I approve of this. My grammar is far from perfect, and I do have quite a bit to say. If blogs weren not available, I would not be able to say it to you.
Also people are turning to places where they can talk about themselves like myspace.com, there are over 98 million myspace.com pages a huge amount of writing and reading if you think of it. Also facebook.com has over 17 million pages. The internet is a giant collaborative open book. It gives people an opportunity to express themselves that simply wasn't there before, like I am expressing myself now.
I think the internet is quietly generating a new generation of readers. We can see it in the explosion of interest in urban fiction which comes from the street from people who you normally don't think of as readers and writers. It is violent, full of sex, drugs, and darkness in many ways, but it creates new readers. With the availabiliity of the internet and computers, it opened whole new opportunities for people who would not normally be reading. I can see the hunger for many people who want to read Zane, Noir, Omar Tyree, Chunichi, and other urban fiction writers.
There is a real renaissance in African American writing and reading. This site http://www.aalbc.com/, has grown tremendously since one of my colleagues saw it at Book Expo America in 2005.
People want reading, they just want it to be relevant to their experience. I think a lot of publishers are out of touch and are not producing material that jibes with every day American experiences. I will probably take the time to read "A Free Life" by Ha Jin, because it looks like it reverbates with the American experience. America is becoming a more diverse society. Publishers are just beginning to wake up to change. We are starting to see change with more international writers becoming available in American like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Umberto Eco, Isabel Allende, and Jonathan Carroll who has an amazing personal website http://www.jonathancarroll.com/ .
Also we are seeing a real explosion of poetry. Poetry in print from small presses has just exploded in availability because it is so easy to print books. It is also a form of free expression which takes well to the web. I was at a workshop, Poetry In the Branches, and the presenter said that were five times as many poetry books being printed as there were ten years ago.
We can now print exactly what people want when they want it. Maybe, bookstores and libraries need to be a little more flexible in how they get books to people. With companies like http://www.lightningsource.com/ , it is possible to print books just in time and on demand. We are not far from a future where books become instant as well. Instabook http://www.instabook.net/web/content.php?content.5 . This will change things considerably. It will lead to a different place and job for books and reading in the world.
Maybe we can reverse this trend. I am not quite sure how, but it needs to be done to keep Americans educated, employed, and free.
This is my daily rant. How did this start? I went to my library and found my library card was expired and I needed to go back the next day to renew it so I could take out some books. I found an article about To Read or Not To Read and decided I should look at the study and comment on it instead of going in to the library and getting a book to read. Sometimes, a little bit of the busman's holiday can be bit overwhelming. After all, this study has a chance to have a real impact on me.
I took a walk to my local library again today, but found it was closed. I guess, I should have called beforehand. Tomorrow is Turkey Day, so it will be closed. The walk was very nice though. It gave me a chance to stretch my legs. I always liked walking better than driving.
I went back again to my library at around three o'clock, it was open. I got a new library card, paid a few dollars in fines, and went and sat down at the free computers for an hour. It is kind of funny sitting there acting like a library patron. I also picked up four books to look at: The Alton Gift by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross, The Atomic Bazaar, The Rise of the Nuclear Poor by William Langewiesche, a graphic novel called American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and The Bonehunters A Tale of the Malanzan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I have not started reading any of them yet. I might start tonight. Signing off and wishing you well for now.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Librarianship, Bookselling, and Publishing
The library of the Nautilus with a picture of Captain Nemo.Creating The Customer Driven Library Building on the Bookstore Model by Jeannette Woodward is about how to improve libraries by understanding how retail bookstores work. The central tenet of this book is that the best way to improve libraries is through better customer service. The book claims that many of the customer service practices of bookstores can be adapted by libraries. Jeanette Woodward says that libraries need to look at their bottom lines and see how statistics and qualitative surveys on what library patrons want can be used to improve service in libraries. Serving the patron and the community become the central goal of the library.
There are detailed sections on how to display materials, improve signage, and generate positive publicity. It challenges the traditional idea that the librarian knows best and claims that what the patron wants is more important. If the library patron doesn't get what they want, they go elsewhere, usually to the local bookstore. Things like how to run a cafe in a library setting, adjust hours so they meet patrons needs, and use staffing so that technology is used effectively are written about.
It claims that the library patron needs to feel safe, have fast service, feel good about their visit, and be informed about what happens in their library. This should be written into the mission of the library.
This is an excellent book that tackles many thorny issues in the public library. It is well worth reading for both librarians and booksellers.
This post is particularly about the relationship between libraries, bookstores, and publishing. One of the review links I have posted is to Bookweb, the newsletter of the American Bookselling Association. Bookweb has quite a few news articles as well as information on what the best books are for selling in the independent bookstore.
The ABA, American Booksellers Association, also sponsors, Bookexpo America, the trade show for American publishing. This show occurs every other year in New York City at the Jacob Javits center. It will be in New York in 2009. I try to go every year it is in New York city, http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/ . The price is incredibly cheap $75.00 in US dollars three days. Close to the same time as the Bookexpo, there is the Day of Dialog between librarians and publishers. You have to register several months in advance to get tickets for the Day of Dialog. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6457224.html . I easily pay for the cost of the event in the amount of free sample books which I end up sending back to where I am working, about sixty pounds of free new books.
Quite a few librarians attend the event in addition to booksellers and publishers. Most of the librarians are either collection development or reference librarians. I usually meet several different people who I have worked with at one point or another when I go there. It takes about a day and half to just walk around all the booths in the Jacob Javits Center. There is every kind of book, comic book, ebook, and book related material there.
Last time I was at this thing in 2007, I got to here a panel by publishers on science fiction in the library setting, as well as pick up a few free books like Armageddon Reef by David Weber, and the graphic novel, Invincible for myself. During the Day of Dialog, George R.R. Martin, the science fiction writer, was one of the invited speakers.
In April 2008, I will be going to the New York Comic Con, http://www.nycomiccon.com/ which offers free admission to professionals, librarians are considered professionals so I get to go free. Last time I was there, there were professional discussion panels on anime, manga, and graphic novels in the library setting. What is different about the New York Comic Con from other comic conventions is that the main purpose of the convention is to meet and talk with all the different comic book publishers like Fantagraphics, DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and others.
I am a big fan of comics lit, that is things like Maus by Art Spiegelman, the comic book adaptation of the Ring of the Nibelung by P. Craig Russell, the Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick, a biography of Kafka by R. Crumb, and many other works. I don't read a whole lot of superhero comics.
I collect what are called "ground level" comics, things that are not quite underground comics, and not quite mainstream comics. People like Vaughn Bode, P. Craig Russell, and Richard Corben. My focus in collecting is mainly science fiction, fantasy, and horror comics.
Another convention I will attend is the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Festival on June 7 and June 8 in the Puck Building in Manhattan. This convention once again is very affordable to attend. Once again, this convention is not like most other comic book conventions, it focuses almost entirely on independent comic book publishers. There are tables from people like Fantagraphics, Soft Skull Press, Last Gasp, Drawn and Quarterly and illustrators like Craig Thompson. Last time I was at the festival in 2005, I got to meet Sara Turner of Make Like a Tree Comics. She has a really excellent free science fiction web comic caled File 49 http://mlatcomics.com/file49_index.html . This really satisfies my fanboy urges.
I haven't had a chance to visit MOCCA-- Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art in New York, but I recently looked at their listing of comic books on the internet. http://www.librarything.com/profile/moccany . They also have a catalog. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/moccany . Maybe, on my next vacation I will get a chance to visit.
I have plenty of thoughts on the more low brow aspect of the librarians and booksellers. One of these things is the public library fundraising booksale which usually comes with cupcakes, cookies, and coffee which is done by the "Friends of the Library." At almost every such event, you will see pickers, or bookscouts who are trying to find special books to sell either on ebay, or to their local bookstore. Most are older gentlemen or ladies who have experience with this kind of thing. It is a hobby for them which brings in some extra money. For the most part they are curmudgeons with a slightly grumpy hands off my stuff attitude. They also attend church rummage sales, flea markets, used bookshops, second hand goods stores and other such venues.
Anyways, this is a piece of my post for the day.
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Another link which I am posting is http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/ this is a news aggregator for the alternative energy industry. If you are interested in alternative energy, this gives very up to the minute news.
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I really haven't thought of anything new to post about improving my site statistics. I'll come up with some more later today.
Alright, I posted a few comments by myself to myself in the comments section. Right now, I am not worried about comment spam and link dropping. Please comment-- remember no porn, no truly gratuitous violence, no super hateful spews, flaming and different opinions are welcome. I like a little debate. It makes the world go around. If you want to put in a link to your blog please do. I will gladly post a comment in return on your blog. Thanks. Talking to myself. Wow.
Anyways, there is so much that is so easy to miss. I just updated my complete profile. It is so easy to miss stuff on this site.
While I was looking at Google Groups help for blogs, I found several blog review style groups in Google, Blogger Review, Blogger Help Group, and Blogger General Discussion where you are supposed to post your URL and ask for comments. I then looked for some web sites that reviewed blogs, there is Bloggeries Blog, and The Weblog Review so far.
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